Specifics of a Montessori Preschool

Guest Author - Alissa Moy

What activities would your child do while at a Montessori preschool program? Here is a comprehensive outline of what you should expect your preschool child to be doing in their Montessori preschool classroom:

Practical Life

Practical life activities help your child to learn about daily living, and activities such as pouring, cleaning, buttoning, zipping and manners. Children will engage in activities by utilizing real materials and complete tasks such as washing real dishes properly, and learning to wipe tables and windows. Children will also learn cooking skills like how to chop carrots and core apples.

Math

Golden Beads, Fraction Insets, the Dot Game, the Stamp Game, Long and Short Chains, cubes and other measurement materials, are just a few of the many materials that facilitate a strong understanding of numerical concepts and operations. These hands on materials are presented sequentially, when an individual child is ready to understand the concepts, and each child is encouraged to move through the curriculum at his or her own pace.

Language and Reading

Starting with the “Moveable Alphabet” children begin sounding out and spelling simple words. Stories are read, and handwriting is practiced. Montessori materials combined with a reading program is used, along with hands on language arts activities, such as synonym/antonym matching.

Science

Science curriculum begins in the preschool years with simple activities involving plants, animals, the solar system, and the weather. Deemed botany, the children may go outdoors to collect real plants which they will examine as they label the parts of the plant. Seeds are planted and nurtured so that children can see how they germinate and turn their leaves towards the sun and their roots towards underground water sources.

History & Geography

An appreciation of cultural similarities and differences is fundamental in the preschool Montessori program. Children will work with globes and puzzle maps to become familiar with the names and locations of the world’s continents, oceans, and countries. Stories from other lands will be read, and songs from around the world will be sung. Major holidays such as Columbus Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and Presidents’ Day are celebrated as well.

The Arts

In Art preschoolers will be exposed to a variety of tools, ranging from paints to clay. Independent creativity is encouraged. Music will entail a vast array of music appreciation, as well as traditional nursery rhymes, fingerplays and songs. Drama will include puppet shows and plays. Children will also learn dance styles, such as square dancing, and experience theater in the classroom or on a field trip.

Here are some wonderful resources to aid your exploration into the Montessori method for your child's preschool preparation: